George l



ttititrh tetes gatrat @ffice GE o non L. GA v n'r'r, o r SAN Ds'ro-Nn,` MIoHIGA-N. am Puma No'. eases, .and .my 1e. 18er.

FENCE.

TOA ALL WIIOM I'l MAY CONCERN: l

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. GAVETT, of Sandstone, iiigthe county of Jackson, and vState of Michigan, have invented a, new and improved Modect' Constructing and Erecting Farm-Fences of a portable character; and I do hereby declare thattlie following is a full, clear, and exact `description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View. i

Figure is a 'transverse section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

My invention relates to an improved arrangement of parts for bracingandtying the posts and rails of a fence, designed either for the permanent enclosure of fields or for temporary enclosures; and the better to enable others skilled in this branch of rural art'. to construct the same, I will now -proceed to describe it, premising thatl although my design and object are chiefly the erection ot a rough farm fence of split timber, which may he built'by the use of an auger and axe, yet lthere is nothing in the arrangement of' its parts inconsistent withthc use ol' thc sawn material, or more elaborate iinish.

The rails composing the panels of my fence are shown at A and B arranged in a right line, the overlapping ends resting alternately upon the trans-rerscsills C and upon each other, as seen, and confined laterally by insertion between two posts D, the lower ends of said posts being properly shaped and driven snugly, a correct distance apart, into-auger holcsbored near the centres ofthe transverse sills aforesaid. ,I usually prepare and frame together all thc lbed-sills and posts first, and-then proceed to erect the fence, panel by panel, by setting up each sill on two stones or blocks E, and fitting and inserting snugly between the posts the panel rails, as before described, to a sutiicient height tokeep out small animals. Then by means of a long-stemmed auger of proper size I bore holes near the ends of the sills to receive the diagonal tie-braces F, keeping, while boring, the stem of said auger in close contact with the corners of the upper course of rails then erected, and also with the edges of the posts, in order that when the said tie-braces (usually hard-wood saplings) are'tted and driven into the holes inthe sills they may be sprung into close contact with the posts,.rails, and with each other. As this will throw the braces out of perpendicular, when viewed in front, I find it best to frame the posts a little out of perpendicularl the opposite direction, so as to lessen the angle of inclination ol' the braces When the diagonal tie-braces are all driven intozthe sills, as previously stated, I lay the upper rails B, as. riders, in the crotches formed by said braces, the overlapping portions of the rails lying between the posts being' generally chamt'crcd, splice fashion, as seen at e, when cach pair of posts may be stayed and the rails tied down, by driving pinsp through the upper ends of the posts immediately over the upper rails B, and similar pins may be driven 'here and there upon which a thin-ended rail, as seen at a, iig. 2, may rest, for the purpose of equalizing the spaces betweenA I In this mode of construction no nails are requisite to construct or sustain the several parts, unless, indeed, it may be thought best to put in a few check nails to prevent any ofthe rails from sliding iendwise, a precaution which I have not yet discovered any necessity for. i v

I am aware that it is nothing new to construct portable fences with double posts framed into cross-sills, and that such posts 4are usually braced by angle braces framed or nailed to them; but framing is costly and shrinks loose; nails rust and break, and' all suoli modes are ut-t'erly inapplicablewith rough, split material and I am not a'ware 'of any other fence in which the posts, sills, and rails are self-supported and. tied with diagonal tie-braces as in mine, by whicli'arrangement many important advantages are obtained, such as minimum amount of cheaply prepared material, self-adjustment of parts without lexpensive fitting, strength, durability, and portability. v

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The einploymeutot' diagonal tie-braces F, in combination with sills C and `posts D for bracing and tying the panel rails ofa farm fence, (either with or without the pins 19,) substantially in the manner herein specified,

GEORGE L. eavntrr.

Witnesses:

NATHAN C. G. ASHLEY, Jason I. Caunes. 

